Teenage Mutant Martial Artists
by Thrythlind
Summary: Not included with the little spamfic because I changed the story a little from that. A wave of thefts is gripping New York city, and its making reporter Nabiki Tendo feel like she's back in her home town. Especially when she's saved from a bunch of mugg
1. Crime Wave

A large black raven swooped quietly into the room surrounding Mimir's well, flapping black furred wings as it started to settle into a landing. Before it touched the ground it began to grow. First into a wolf wearing a pelt of black feathers, and then into a man with a thick black cloak, like wings and feathers mixed in his thick black hair. The being's mouth curled into an amused smirk under wolf-yellow eyes.  
"Gabriel," one spirit muttered, resulting in a more pronounced smirk from the man.  
"That is one title," he admitted in a quiet voice that growled but was neither rough, nor hostile. "How long I remain in that office, however."  
Most shrugged that off. Lycanus's opinions concerning divine office were fairly well known, at least the ones he wanted people to know. The archangel smirked at the faces trying to determine what he was there for. What move in his cosmic chess game he was making now.  
He brushed lightly at the horn that was the mark of his office and strode to the well. He reached down and scooped up a handful of water, carried over a few feet to another part of the well, and dropped it back in. The water was turbulent and rough for a few moments and then it accepted the mix and settled calmly into a smooth surface again. Sometimes all it took was a small, meaningless appearance, and people, even great and powerful demons and "gods" started leaping to conclusions.  
Besides, now that the matter with the Lord of Nightmares was cleared up, he had some freetime before the next of his plots started developing.  
  
******  
  
"Much more than just a series of small, isolated incidents," the newswoman announced to the city streets. She was a woman of Japanese descent, somewhere between twenty five and thirty five. Her brown hair pulled back in a thin ponytail, that could only occasionally be seen from behind her back. Her bangs curled into a helmet like frame around her face.  
Few people were paying attention to the street TV as they walked along on their business. "It is now apparent that there is an organized criminal element in the streets, and for the moment, business is good. So good in fact that there are no eyewitnesses to any of these crimes."  
As the television continued a man stood reading a paper emblazoned with the headline "City Crime Escalates." As he read he unknowingly had his pocket picked. It was immediately passed off to another teenager, and then another. Until it reached a girl with short auburn hair who leaned against a wall holding the wallet. A gauntleted hand reached out and took the stolen item.  
"With complaints ranging from purse snatching to breaking and entering, the police switchboards have been swamped with the angry voices of more and more citizens that have fallen prey to the surge of crimes that continues to plague this city. Instead of getting better, things have actually gotten worse."  
Elsewhere a delivery man took a box off of his truck and walked the twenty feet to the door to hand it off to the recipient.  
"Even more alarming, is baffling and often bizarre nature of these crimes," the reporter continued. "Merchandise ranging from skateboards to stereo systems have been disappearing from store shelves and storage areas at an alarming rate."  
When the delivery man returned to the truck a few moments later, it had been completely emptied.  
"Even the victims themselves," an old woman waved dismissively at her television and reached to grab some more yarn. While she was bent over the TV was grabbed. "Rarely catch a glimpse of the thieves, in fact the police have been unable to come up with a single eyewitness. Only a few vague reports of young boys or teenagers at the scenes have been filed."  
"But whoever is behind these crimes," the reporter continued. Meanwhile a van occupied by men in black jumpsuits with bug-eyed goggles was filled with various boxes by a virtual stream of teenagers. "One thing is certain, these are much more than just a series of random isolated incidents."  
"Crimes without criminals?" the reporter continued. At a warehouse on the edge of the city a man in an ornate karate style gi watched over a horde of teenagers sorting through a collection of boxes. "An invisible gang at work? Who we gonna call?"  
The short-haired girl that had finally ended up with the wallet tore open a box and pulled out a set of head phones.  
"Unfortunately the police are the only ones available to combat what some are already calling the silent crime wave. But perhaps the most disturbing silence is the one coming from city hall. Nabiki Tendo, signing off."  
  
******  
  
"Don't you think you're pushing a little hard, Nabs?" a tech asked as Nabiki packed up her things.  
"You're kidding right?" Nabiki asked. "This is the story of the decade."  
"You bought stock in some security firms, didn't you," the other asked.  
"Of course," Nabiki said. "But I can always get money, now recognition, that's another matter." She glanced around and frowned.  
"Oh, your neice said she'd meet you at your apartment," the tech said.  
"She's twelve years old," Nabiki said irritably. "When this cultural education thing ends I'd like to return her to her parents in one piece."  
"Come on," the tech said. "She's been a city rat since she first got off the plane a year ago, she'll be fine."  
"She better be," Nabiki said seriously pointing at him. She hmphed and started walking out of the building. The parking lot was darkened as she headed for her BMW, and took out her keys. Suddenly New York was seeming a lot like her home town. That put her in famliar territory, with the exception that she didn't know the players.   
She was considering this as she turned the corner toward the driver side door. The sound of someone dropping a tire iron alerted her to the fact that she wasn't alone. She frowned and turned around her car with a straight kick sending the would be thief sprawling back to the blacktop of the parking lot.  
"Find somebody else's..." Nabiki stopped berating the thief and noticed the small crowd of thugs that was waiting in the darkness.  
"Nice legs, lady," one of the young toughs said, flicking out a switchblade. Nabiki didn't waste time talking or trying to convince herself that she could take them with some barely remembered childhood training. She turned and ran down the streets.  
"Get her!"  
"Great," Nabiki muttered as she found herself cut off from the news building. "I'm going to get killed by gang of punk kids."   
She caught sight of a possible escape in the form of a pile of junk next to a fence in an alley. If it held she could knock it down on her way up and block the path off to her. As Nabiki made her attempt she began to seriously regret her decision to stop studying the family art. Especially when the junk caved in under her weight and sent her tumbling hard to the ground amidst a lot of trash.  
"Now we got you," one of thugs said, smiling and playing with a rod he had picked up from somewhere.  
Nabiki stumbled painfully to her feet and struggled to remember a stance, kata or anything that might get her out of this. A flash of metal caught her eye and she smirked as something struck the light illuminating the alley. As darkness covered everything Nabiki heard the familiar sound of flesh and wood striking flesh and stayed very still. She was crossing her arms and smiling superiorly at the thugs sitting there tied up when the cops approached and headlights replaced the broken street lamp.  
While the cops were collecting the thugs she quietly slipped what appeared to be a handmade dagger into her bag. She tapped her fingers against her elbow and took in her surroundings, noting a slightly raised man-hole cover lowering shut. Yes, things were beginning to get more and more like old times.  
  
******  
  
"That was great," a feminine voice declared happily.  
"Null sweat," a guy answered. The two speakers were rather unusual, very unusual in fact. Not because they dressed in matching dark red outfits. Nor because they were blond with the occasional black or white stripe or spot. Nope, they were unusual in that they had fur rather than hair, and that it pretty much covered their body. Then there were those pointed ears, and the long tails swishing excitedly behind them.  
"They didn't stand a chance," another girl added coming up behind the two cat people. She had a very bright red color to her fur with white highlights, and was showing off a very foxy smile. Her long bushy tail was revealing just as much excitement as the cats' were.  
"I could have finished it quicker," another guy said coming up behind them. He stood taller than the others, with thick grey fur. His arms were crossed and he was frowning. A long tail swished behind him.  
"Yeah, and caved..." the cat guy started. The cats both started circling the very wolfish fellow, moving quickly.  
"...the alley in..." the girl continued.  
"...on us! Come on..."  
"...you just don't want..."  
"... to admit you..."  
"...actually had fun."  
"Could you quit that!" an irritated voice demanded behind them. The second wolf had her arms crossed and her tail flicked angrily as she stalked past everybrody growling.  
"We followed her plan right?" the fox-girl asked.  
"All she said was what we were going to do anyway," the wolf said.  
"So there's no reason..."  
"...for her to be mad right?" Everybody shrugged and followed after the wolf.  
"She left her dagger behind," somebody said coming up behind them.  
This speaker was another fox, wearing a pair of glasses that had probably been scavanged and didn't much help his eyesight. He was folding a bit of robe into his clothes, and watching the she-wolf worriedly.  
  
******  
  
Nabiki walked into her apartment and stretched out. She checked the time and frowned. Just what she needed, to get bogged down with the police for the night. She walked into her kitchen and set her bag down on the counter and opened the fridge.  
"Freeze, kiddo," she said, frostily. She turned around and looked at her niece's hands in her bag. She arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Have you been taking lessons from your grandfather, Midori?"  
"Ah come on, Auntie Biki," the girl whined. A girl with short auburn hair. "You have lots of mon...what's this?"  
"I figured the daughter of two great martial artists would recognize a dagger when she saw one," Nabiki said, grabbing the weapon out of her hand. "Now where did you go today?"  
"Where were you for the last few hours?" Midori snapped.  
"I was at the police department," Nabiki said distastefully. "You weren't here or else you would have known that from the answering machine."  
"Like you care," the girl hmphed, crossing her arms. "You just dump me off like Mom and Dad did."  
"I work," Nabiki said. "I can't watch you ever moment of every day. And your parents didn't dump you. The version I got was that you virtually pleaded to come live over here for a couple of years."  
"They didn't tell me that you were a manipulative, tight wad, old maid," Midori complained. "Why were you at the cops? Chasing your story?"  
"Some people tried to mug me," Nabiki said. "I was giving a report. And some of the cops aren't exactly friendly with me right now." Midori stared at her in surprise.  
"Are you all right?" her niece asked.  
"What do you think?" Nabiki asked. "Do I look hurt?"  
"Umm," Midori looked suddenly nervous.  
"And then I come home to find my niece lying in wait to pick my pocket," Nabiki said. "Its been a lovely day, Midori, please let me relax before I decide whether or not to call your parents."   
"Sorry, Auntie Biki," Midori said, wincing. She drifted off to Nabiki's guest room. Nabiki looked at the dagger in her hand and thought over her encounter in the alley.  
"What do we have here?" she whispered, smiling. She traced the kanji on the blade and chuckled. "Yamasen, Umisen." A dagger marked with the symbols of a thieving martial art in the midst of a city-wide crime spree. She frowned at the next few Kanji. "Tendo Anything Goes."  
The frown vanished in the face of an amused laugh.  
"It's good to be back in the game."  
In the guest room, Midori's eyes were wide as her aunt listed off the Yamasen and Umisen.  
  
******  
  
"The police collected them," the speaker was a dark skinned girl with prematurely grey hair. "There was something familiar about that woman, Mistress Kurumi."  
"Is that so?" the speaker was a red-haired woman leaning on a cane. Her eyes glowed bright red, bright enough that she wouldn't even be able to hide it behind shades.   
A loud clattering sound announced the opening of the trap door to the rest of the sewers, and soon two blonde blurs were circling the woman, who laughed and sat down in her chair.  
"Kurumi!" they shouted in one voice. "We had a battle, a real battle! It was cool!"  
"Calm down!" the wolf shouted coming up from the sewers. "Show the Mistress some respect." The wolf travelled irritably to a corner of the basement and picked up a sword and a sharpening stone.  
"Is something wrong, Shampoo?" Kurumi asked.  
"She lost her dagger in the fight," the fox explained, joining them. "That reporter lady picked it up."  
"Reporter lady?" Kurumi repeated, curious.  
"She's been making a lot of reports about all the thieves recently," the fox-boy said as he entered the room ahead of the wolf-boy. "But you don't watch TV much so."  
"Yeah, she has the same family name as you," the cat-guy said.  
"Weird, huh?" the cat-girl added.  
"Do any of you know this reporter's given name?" Kurumi asked. "Ukyou? Ryouga?"  
"Becky?" the cat girl suggested. "Nina?"  
"Beaky?" the male cheetah added. "Nancy?"  
"Ranma, Ranko. You never listen," the male wolf grumbled sitting down. "It was Nabiki." Kurumi's eyes widened.  
"Something wrong, Mistress?" the dark skinned girl asked.  
"Nabiki Tendo is my sister," the woman said.  
  
******  
  
"Moshi moshi," Akane answered the phone. "Oh, hello Nabiki. Is there something wrong with Midori?" She said the last worriedly. Nabiki's rather dry answer did not reassure her.  
"She's healthy," Nabiki assured her. "She thinks I have enough money that she can borrow from me, without saying anything."  
"What?" Akane snapped. "Let me talk to her."  
"Yeah, and then I need to talk to Ranma," Nabiki said. Akane waited irritably for Nabiki to put on her daughter and then proceeded to lecture. Ranma picked up another line to add his own say so for a few minutes.   
Nabiki watched satisfactorily as the girl winced and cringed at her parents lecturing, and waited patiently to be given the phone again. Midori wandered off to bed feeling like she had just done ten rounds with one of the Hibiki's. She kept her ear open to listen to her aunt's conversation with her father though.  
"Sorry 'bout that, Nabs," Ranma said as Nabiki came back to the phone. "Sometimes she can drive you crazy. You wanted to talk to me."  
"Yeah, that letter Kurumi sent us," she started. "About sixteen years ago?"  
"The one about Ryuu and Natsume getting killed by a renegade student?" Ranma asked cautiously.  
"It was posted marked New York, right?" Nabiki said.  
"There was no return address," Ranma said. "But that's what the stamp said. You think you found out more about that?"  
"I got rescued from a mugging today," Nabiki said. "Didn't see by who, but one of them was carrying a handmade dagger, nice one too, and its marked with the kanji for Tendo Anything Goes, Yamasen, and Umisen." There was silence for a moment.  
"Those arts are sealed," he said angrily. "No one besides me and my Pop should know them now that Ryuu's dead."  
"There's also a crime wave in the city, Ranma," Nabiki said. "Pickpockets, break ins, lots of thievery."  
"You're saying somebody's using the Yamasen and Umisen," Ranma said. "The way it was supposed to be used?"  
"That's what it looks like," Nabiki said. "Of course, I could be wrong. I got this dagger from people that may have saved my life."  
"Do you want us to come help?" Ranma asked.  
"No, no," Nabiki said. "I think I can handle this. Who knows what craziness will happen if you come over."  
"Thanks for the confidence," Ranma muttered. "Don't do anything stupid, Nabiki."  
"I don't plan to," Nabiki promised, smirking. She turned toward the guest room and saw the door close shut. Nabiki shook her head amused. "Don't worry, kiddo. We weren't talking about you." Nabiki sighed and shook her head, chuckling. "I'm never having kids."  
"You don't have to worry about it old maid!" Midori's voice called out.  
  



	2. Night on the Town

"Your sister, Kurumi?" the fox girl asked, pausing in the trip to the "kitchen."  
"Not by blood," she said. "Someone pretending to be her father claimed to be mine."  
"We saved the Mistress's sister," the cheetah girl said.  
"Cool," was her partner's add on.  
"She's got my dagger!" the wolf-girl shouted.  
"It's too late to do anything about it," Kurumi said.  
"But I bet I can get it back!" she insisted.  
"Leave it," Kurumi instructed.  
"I made that dagger," she insisted. "It's..."  
"Shampoo!" Kurumi interrupted. 'It's an item, it's not important."  
"She'll never know I was there," Shampoo insisted.  
"Most likely not," Kurumi agreed. Trying to ignore it as the cheetahs quietly started a tickle duel. "But it isn't worth the risk for just a replaceable tool. I can understand how you feel about being stuck down here. I spent most of my childhood wandering Japan with just my sister. But we need to be cautious when..." She picked up a glass of water and tossed it at the increasingly louder cheetahs. "Ranko, Ranma. There is a time and place for games, but its not while I'm lecturing."  
"Sorry, Mistress," they said in one embarrassed voice.  
"Cats," the wolves muttered. Kurumi just rolled her eyes and turned to the fox-girl.  
"Ukyou, what's for dinner?" Kurumi asked.   
"Yuck!" the fox-girl closed the fridge door, gagging. "Food's all spoiled."  
"I think I may have spoiled you all," Kurumi said. "There's no such thing as food that can't be eaten."  
"The milk is purple," Ukyou said. The other fox walked over to look over the fridge.  
"On second thought," Kurumi said.  
"No milk?" Ranko whined. Ukyou glanced up from the fridge and traded a look with the other fox.  
"What do you think, Mousse?" she asked. He stood up and shook his head.  
"Busted," he said. "Freon's all leaked out. And it short circuited to set the thaw function on overdrive. That's why it all spoiled so fast." All eyes turned to the dark skinned, human-looking girl. She sighed resignedly.  
"I'll order the pizzas," she said.  
"Good, now that that's settled," Kurumi said, the thought of coming food easing her mind somewhat. "While we wait for the food, I think that we should meditate on the events of the..." Kurumi was interrupted by the sound of music, and leaned her head on her hand and arched an eyebrow at her students.  
"It's sorta the same," Ukyou said.  
"Uh huh," Kurumi said, doubtfully tapping her fingers against her temple. Not that there was much she could say about it, remember Natsume's own efforts to get her to sit still long enough to meditate.  
"I'm going for a walk," Shampoo declared, snatching a heavy, hooded coat and walking out of the sewer-apartment. Kurumi shook her head as she watched the girl leave. The wolf-boy glanced at Kurumi for a moment and then after Shampoo.   
"Don't worry about her, Ryouga. She needs some time alone," she told him.   
"I think I'll just follow her to be sure," he said anyway, and got up to follow Shampoo.  
Kurumi shrugged and said, under her breath, "Kids."  
  
*******  
  
"What are you doing out here, Mousse?" the dark skinned girl asked. "If someone sees you there'll be trouble."  
"What's it like, Kodachi?" he asked quietly. "You know, walking around with the humans? Even Mistress Kurumi can't do that and she is human."  
"What do you think it's like?" Kodachi asked. "I'm always afraid I'll be caught in a lie and someone will want to do a blood test or something."  
"You don't feel like you fit in?" Mousse asked.  
"Of coure not," Kodachi huffed. "They're human, I only appear to be."  
"One other question," Mousse said.  
"What is it?" Kodachi asked, tapping her fingers irritably.  
"Why do you always have the pizza delivered to this place?" Mousse asked, gesturing around at the abandoned storefront. "Its not like you can't go down to that convenience store and wait there."  
"Because there has yet to be a pizza delivery person who can find it in less than thirty minutes," Kodachi answered honestly.  
"Oh," Mousse said.  
  
*******  
  
"Mommy! Look at the werewolves!" a boy said, shouting excitedly. After hours of actors speaking in Shakespearian dialect he had finally found something that interested him.  
"Those are just some statues, Eric," his mother said. "You'd think they'd put them somewhere easier to see, you could walk into them before you saw them." In fact she would have walked about three feet to left of them if her son hadn't pointed them out.  
"They look so real!" he said.  
"Don't be silly," the mother said. "There's no such thing as werewolves." She looked over the two "statues" that were placed just out of the light beyond the park theater. "Besides, real werewolves would be bigger, and wouldn't be dressed in those cute matching outfits." She looked over Shampoo's cheongsam, noting the definite humanoid figure from the neck down. "Must have been a post-adolescent sculptor." She muttered before herding her son away from the suggestive "sculpture."  
"Why do the kids always find us?" Shampoo asked.  
"I don't know whether to feel insulted or what," Ryouga said as the two humans moved off.  
"Is there a reason that Kurumi gave us matching outfits?" Shampoo asked.  
"Well you know how she gets," Ryouga muttered. "At least the cheetahs enjoy them."  
"Somebody might think we're a couple," Shampoo agreed. They looked at each other.  
"Ewwww," they said unison.  
"I just had a disturbing thought," Ryouga said.  
"Do I want to know?" Shampoo asked.  
"What if Ranko and Ranma DID get together?" Ryouga asked.  
"Lots of cats," Shampoo said.  
"All saying parts of one sentence," Ryouga added.  
"Bouncing all over the place," Shampoo said  
"Cats," they said in unison with a touch of frustration.  
  
*******  
  
Ranko and Ranma sneezed.  
"Some one..."  
"...must be..."  
"...talking..."  
"...about us."  
"Just for one moment," Ukyou said irritably. "Can you two talk as if you're two different people."  
"Of course we can," Ranko said.  
"It's just that that's more fun!" Ranma added. Both smiled.  
  
*******  
  
"So that would be twenty-five pizzas," the delivery man said to a surprised Kodachi. He was a college-aged boy with dark brown hair, and nearly black eyes that glittered in the dark.  
"Just how did you find me so quickly?" Kodachi asked.  
"I almost didn't," the man said. "And that's impressive. So anyway, you owe me about two hundred sixty dollars." Kodachi looked mournfully at her wallet, she was expected free pizza. "But, I'll pay for it if you promise to tell me how you learned to hide your mind like that."  
"I do not know what you're talking about," she said, eyes narrowed.  
"Fine," he said, smiling. "I'll do it anyway, don't worry, I can afford it. I just do this job for the chance to meet interesting people."  
"I see. Thank you," Kodachi said. "Mister..."  
"Lamont Cranston," he said. "I was named after my grandfather."  
"Fine," she said. "I'll see about repaying you."  
"I'm in the phone book," he said. "I'll look forward to hearing from you, Foxy." He walked off.  
"Good guess," Kodachi muttered as soon as he was gone. "Mousse are you still out there?"  
"He was coming on to you," Mousse said.  
"Really?" Kodachi asked dryly. "Can we concentrate on getting the pizzas home?"  
  
*******  
  
"Ready?" Ukyou whispered to Mousse and Kodachi. Both nodded and tensed, staring ahead. She glanced at Ranko and Ranma, who also nodded and indicated their readiness. All eyes turned to Kurumi and waited for the signal to do battle.  
"Itekadimas," Kurumi said cheerfully. And the battle over the food began.   
All of them blurred into motion. When it was over a happily sated Kurumi sighed pleasantly and looked to her suddenly haggard looking students.   
"You know, one of these days, you'll be able to keep up with me one on one." She stood up stiffly and stretched out as much as she could, leaning heavily on her cane. She then walked to the big recliner they had recovered for her and sat down with a sigh of relief.  
"Just how fast is she?" Ukyou asked, catching her breath.  
"Too..." Ranma started.  
"...fast." Ranko finished.  
  
*******  
  
A woman screamed as the man stepped out of the shadows and produced a switchblade. He waved at her with his other hand, gesturing for the purse and glancing around. He was moving to open his mouth and say something when something moved out of the corner of his eye.  
"What the-?" he asked. His prey took the opportunity to run headlong away from him. screaming. "Hey, you come ba-!" Something brushed past behind him in the darkness. He turned around to see what it was, and as soon as he turned around, something grabbed the back of his shirt and tossed him away.  
The thug hit the ground and groaned as he stood stiffly back up, noticing that, somehow, he had been stripped to his boxers  
"What the hell was that!" he asked.  
"It appeared to me that you were in the process of assaulting that woman," a voice said.coolly. A man stepped into the shadows tapping a cane against his shoulder. "It seems that I cannot even attend a viewing of one of The Bard's more triumphant productions without encountering some form of human filth such as yourself."  
"Are you the asshole that did this?" the thug demanded. "Because if you are..."  
"Do not be foolish," the man said. "I have a much more painful lesson to teach you."  
"Just try it pops..." The man rushed forward in a blink and slammed his cane into the thugs get. He then reversed the grip and used the hook to toss the thug across the clearing.  
"Stop that!" a girl's voice demanded from the shadows.  
"Yeah, it ain't like a he's out to kill people," a boy's voice added.  
"Perhaps you would like to voice your concerns in the open," the man asked. "Or do you wish to continue skulking in the shadows."  
"You don't give us commands," the girl's voice shouted, from a different space. The thug was looking around, every motion of the leaves seeming to be someone just barely held back in the shadows. "We punished him enough as it is. There is absolutely no reason to beat him to within an inch of his life."  
"Such embarrassments are for children," was the answer. "They are not effective for such as him." The criminal took the example of the woman he had tried to mug earlier and turned to run. The man with the cane turned to follow, leading with his cane and found his strike blocked by a thick staff weilded by someone in a heavy coat and a deep hood.  
"Enough already," the boy said.  
"Good work, Ryouga," another figure said, dropping down out of the trees and weilding a bokken. The man with the cane arched an eyebrow, both at the weapon and the name. A gloved hand extended outward to point at the man. "Now you get out of here, we don't want to hurt you."  
"Shampoo," Ryouga said, frustrated. The other wolf had a tendency to give commands to her fellows rather than requesting anything.   
"Perhaps something else is in order then," the man said, pulling back and tapping his shoulder with the cane again. "It has been far too long since the Blue Thunder has been tested against a worthy foe."  
"The Blue Thunder?" Shampoo repeated.  
"Is that like a sad fart?" Ryouga asked.  
"Well, this is not a bokken," the Blue Thunder said, glancing at his cane. "But it has some advantages. It'll do to punish your impertinence to Kuno Tatewaki."   
He slashed out at the figure with the male voice and the boy predictably blocked him. Kuno reversed his grip and grabbed the boys staff pulling back. He was surprised when the smaller figure didn't even budge. The staff swung down and narrowly missed a side-stepping Kuno. The hook of the cane came free of the staff and Kuno was about to strike again when the legs were swept out from under his feet.  
"You shouldn't ignore me," Shampoo said. "I am the chief student of the Shinkiro Style, not some useless female."   
Ryouga fought the urge to ask the usual question one of them would ask in response to that: "When did Kurumi name a 'chief student'?" It was well known that Shampoo's bossiness had earned her her name. A fact which made some of them wonder what the original Shampoo was like.  
Kuno kippuped to his feet and smiled, dusting himself off.  
"Perhaps I should cease playing," he said, stepping back into stance. "Care to test your skill, Miss...?"  
"Shampoo," Shampoo said readying her bokken. Kuno laughed and tapped his shoulders.  
"Of course," he said. "But are you certain you can take me without help?"  
"Easily," Shampoo said. Then the wolf was launching forward in a strike. Kuno's cane flashed out and hooked the bokken out of her hand. And into Kuno's.  
"You show promise," Kuno admitted, quirking an eye as the girl produced a Manriki-Gusari she had apparently been wearing as a necklace. That wasn't what surprised him though. Her hood had fallen back, revealing the very canine head. "What manner of demon are you?"  
"You don't need to know!" Shampoo shouted.   
"Do you need help, Shampoo?" Ryouga asked, hefting his staff.  
"Ryouga, stay out of this!" Shampoo ordered. She moved forward swiftly, and kicked out. The cane, now in Kuno's left hand, came down, and Shampoo caught it with the chain. Her kick, unfortunately, moved smoothly past the other fighter though, and the bokken slammed squarely into her back sending her into a tree.  
"Shampoo!" Ryouga shouted, moving in and starting a series of attacks with the staff, assisted by occasional unarmed strikes. Kuno's cane and bokken combination seemed to present a formidable defense, however.  
"Impressive," Kuno said. He hooked the staff again and saw the wolfish grin under the head.  
"That doesn't work, remember?!" Ryouga shouted, ripping back on the cane. And rolling completely out of balance when Kuno merely released the cane. From there it was an easy two-handed strike for Kuno to slam him into another tree.  
"Whatever sort of demon or spirit you may be," Kuno said to the dazed wolves. "You are obviously children, and I have no time to waste with such cubs." Saying that he impaled the bokken into the ground and snatched up his cane on his way away from the scene.  
"Cubs!?" Shampoo shouted angrily, getting dazedly to her feet. And starting to chase after the man. "Cubs!?  
"Shampoo! Stop!" Ryouga shouted, grabbing her. "He's on the street! We can't go out there!"  
"Great! Great!" Shampoo snapped angrily, grabbing her bokken. "First I lose the dagger and then we get humiliated by an old man with a cane."  
"What is it with the dagger?" Ryouga asked. "You have tons of throwing daggers."  
"Well, I made THAT one," Shampoo said.  
"So, make another one," Ryouga said. "You act like you marked that thing with the symbols of the foundation schools."  
"Uh, heh," Shampoo said, scratching the back of her head. "Well, this was relaxing, better go home before they start getting worried." Ryouga stared at her.  
"You didn't," he said.  
"There should be a record of the style's history," Shampoo said, embarrassed.  
"Yeah, right," Ryouga said. "Except that Kurumi said NEVER mark ANYTHING with those symbols!"  
"Don't you shout at me!" Shampoo protested. "I'll get it back!"  
"How!?" he asked.  
"She's not a martial artist," Shampoo said. "You just can't stand to be optimistic about anything, can you?" Ryouga covered his eyes with his hand and shook his head.  
"Don't worry, it'll be easy," Shampoo ended.


End file.
